Immigration Bill Comes Up Short in Senate

A 46-53 Senate vote may have derailed comprehensive immigration reform for this session.

Jun 28, 2007

Any hope for passage of comprehensive immigration reform ended today when a 46-53 Senate vote failed to bring a compromise bill to a final vote tomorrow. It was the second - and likely final - collapse in this session of the Senate.

Support had steadily eroded as senators were besieged with calls from constituents who believed the bill provided amnesty to those who entered the country illegally. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D., Cal., has said she would not bring up a House bill if the Senate action failed. The defeated compromise bill included the AgJobs package, which had wide support in the industry as a way to resolve major farm/agribusiness labor shortages.